braintag: objectivity is at best objectionable.

June 17, 2005

objectivity is at best objectionable.

In Steve Garfield's video dispatch for Rocketboom the other day, he went to the Cambridge Commons where the U.S. Army staged its 230th birthday celebration. As he made his way across the square, he started each interview with the same question: "Why are you here?"

There were all types of folks there, some to support the Army, some who didn't agree with the Army's actions or policies, but one thing that came across in Steve's post is that he interviewed lots of people and they all had different reasons for being there.

So why did it take less than an hour for folks to start trolling Rocketboom's comment permalink about their lack of objectivity?

Objectivity? Didn't we dispatch with objectivity in journalism last year, somewhere amongst the rathergates, the swift boats, and the dean screams?

The notion of objectivity is fun to hold on to in professional journalism. It's like the Buddha who found enlightenment and then thought that he couldn't rest until all other souls in the world were enlightened. There's a noble irony there that's just wonderful to watch. But what's interesting in religion and philosophy gets to be a chore in everyday media. Eventually I get tired of having to interpret the agenda of the reporter, the editorial staff, advertiser concerns, political concerns, as well as the financial concerns of the owning conglomerate each time I watch a news story. ("The Michael Jackson Verdict: What it means for you and your family -- tonight at eleven!")

The appeal of the citizen journalist is that when I watch Steve Garfield, I know that I'm just dealing with the person. That person is biased, pointed, anti-something, pro-another thing, sometimes indifferent, and always everything in between. Unlike the objective professional, the citizen journalist does not deny their own humanity. They are not looking to find balance in some mythical equation. They're not looking to find parity in screentime for opposing ideas. They're just sharing what they've experienced and maybe also a little bit of what they thought about that experience. I'll take it for what it is. And if the citizen journalist blogs regularly, I can go to their text blog, read their posts, and get a better sense who they are, what they believe in, and where they're coming from.

Steve Garfield, Amanda Congdon, Chuck Olsen, Andrew, Annie, Michael, Zadi, and Josh are all unique citizens of the world, as is everyone. No matter how alike someone may seem, no one has had the same exact experiences in the same exact sequence in life that anyone else has had. Each time someone chooses to share that experience through a videoblog, a podcast, a blog post, a song, a poem, a play, a newspaper article, a tv show, film, puppet show, whatever their media may be, they do us all a favor by giving us perspective to compare to and people to potentially collaborate with.

The same is true of all citizen journalists, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Posted by yatta at June 17, 2005 2:15 AM

Comments

Word.

Posted by: Chuck Olsen at June 17, 2005 3:14 AM

"It's like the Buddha who found enlightenment and then thought that he couldn't rest until all other souls in the world were enlightened."

great way to put it. :)

Posted by: Zadi at June 17, 2005 3:47 AM

Sweet!

Posted by: Steve Garfield at June 17, 2005 7:39 AM

nice. :)

Posted by: annie at June 21, 2005 1:03 AM